Trial Lawyer Tapped by Fla. Gov. for Post Dies on Way Home

Well-known Florida trial lawyer Glenn M. Burton died Wednesday, not long after he was tapped by Florida’s governor to serve on the Tampa Sports Authority Board. He was 51.

The Tampa Tribune reports that Burton was driving back from a Florida Bar convention in Orlando when his heart stopped. His wife, Nancy Burton, was with him at the time and had to take control of the car from the passenger seat.

Burton, a partner of the Tampa firm Burton, Beytin & McLaughlin, was active in the Florida Bar and was chairman-elect of Bar’s Trial Lawyers Section.

Burton was a 1980 graduate of the University of Florida and 1983 graduate of Stetson University College of Law.

“I can tell you without hesitation that he was one of the best lawyers in the state,” one of Burton’s partners, Ken Beytin, told the Tribune.

Burton’s wife told the Tribune that her husband was eager for news about the gubernatorial appointment and checked messages all day. He didn’t get the news before his death.